Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Just wanted to check in and see how everyone is doing. It seems like all I do anymore is see doctors!

I am scheduled for surgery Wednesday morning on my right foot---for both the plantar fascitiis and the tarsal tunnel release. But I am getting a little scared. Not only has my foot pain increased, but I'm having unexplained blurred vision, swelling in my knees and ankles, and difficulty going from a sitting to a standing position. The other day I didn't think I was going to be able to get out of the car! It's embarrassing! It's like my brain tells me to do one thing, and my body doesn't act! I sat on the steps last night, and I couldn't get up.

I saw a new internist yesterday who was wonderful. She spent almost an hour with me, and she said I should not be having this much trouble at my age. She said it sounds like weakness of the major muscles. I had 4 vials of blood drawn, and she is running lots of tests. This is all probably just related to my back/foot problems, but I'm just wanting to reassure myself that it isn't something else before I have the surgery. I should get the results back on Monday.

I'm dreading the surgery because it's a long recovery period (can take up to 9 mo-1 year), and often times, the nerve pain is not resolved and can, in fact, increase after the surgery. But I need to do something! I cannot continue like this!

I had to fight back tears yesterday at the doctor's office, while I tried to explain to her that I never in a million years expected my life to be like this. To have gone from an extremely active lifestyle to days where I can hardly walk/stand has been very difficult.

I'm trying to hang in there! I know I'm not going through anything compared to my neighbor who's battling Stage IV breast cancer which has now spread to her lungs and bones. She and I are quite a pair----as we sit on the porch together and discuss our medical problems over hot tea. We both laugh about it.... It's either that or cry. We know that all we can do is hang in there!

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